November 20, 2008 Are you crazy? Are you so flush with money that you don’t mind giving away $20,000 or $30,000 of your equity? I almost said “hard-earned” equity – but for most of us who’ve bought in the last 10 years, we didn’t have to do much other than sit back and watch our home appreciate. But however we’ve earned the equity, it doesn’t seem on the surface to be a good idea to sell right now. But what if I told you that by giving away $20,000 I’ll give you back $30,000? You’ve now netted $10,000. Sounds a bit better now, doesn’t it? You’re continuing to earn equity the “easy” way – even in this different market. Let’s say that you own a house that a few years ago was valued at $200,000 – up 30% from when you bought in 1999. Unfortunately prices have dropped in your area so now your home is only worth $180,000 – down $20,000 from 3 years ago. Ouch! It’s no good wishing you’d sold then – that window of opportunity has already passed. But if you have a stable job in an industry that appears to be weathering the economic downturn fairly well, then you might want to consider taking advantage of lower prices on larger homes. If you’ve had to drop your price 10%, then larger, more expensive homes will have to drop their price also. A home that would have cost $300,000 two years ago may now be listed for $270,000. Then add in the monthly savings of an incredibly low interest rate (I just spoke to a Mortgage rep and he told me as of December 30, 30 year mortgage rates are holding at between the high 4% and mid 5% range. Fifteen year rates are slightly lower at 4.75%.) So what does this mean to your bottom line? For many, the cost is only a couple of hundred dollars more a month for a much bigger comfortable home. Only you can do your calculate what the cost of moving into a more spacious home would be. If I were looking to move up, and my long-term employment seemed secure, I’d definitely be looking now! This is an inactive RePage. If you are Mindy Dotson and wish to reactivate this page, please visit www.RePagesOnline.com for instructions.

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102 Northlake Lane, Madison MS 22 St Charles Place, Madison MS

Local Information for Madison, MS

Latitude: 32.457061 -- Longitude: -90.108583

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ZIP Codes for Madison, Mississippi	39110  39130
Area Code for Madison, Mississippi	601
Time zone for Madison, Mississippi	CST

Other Area Cities:   Madison, MS  Jackson, MS  Ridgeland, MS 

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Madison, Mississippi, named for James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, grew up along a bustling railroad track in pre-Civil War Mississippi. It was 1856 when the Illinois Central Railroad opened its Madison Station, the forerunner of today’s City of Madison. Although near-by Madisonville, a settlement established along the stagecoach route of the Natchez Trace, boasted a race tack, two banks, a wagon factory and at least one hotel, its residents could not resist the lure of the future. The newly established railroad community began to thrive, and Madisonville soon became extinct. Like many railroad towns in the South, Madison Station fell victim to the Civil War. Just 10 miles from the state capital, Jackson, it was largely destroyed after the July 18-22, 1861 siege of Jackson. -- Source: Wikipedia.com